


Since 1996

by MadamRed



Series: 400-Follower Celebration (Tumblr) [13]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Banter, F/M, Mario Kart, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-21 12:10:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9548465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamRed/pseuds/MadamRed
Summary: Writing prompt requested on Tumblr: “I’m so proud of you.”(Rated T for some language.)





	

‘No,’ Derek exclaimed, not able to believe what he saw on the screen.

‘Oh, _yes,’_ Penelope said.

‘No, I refuse to believe this,’ he got up from his seat next to you on the couch and paced the room. ‘Are you serious?!’

‘She won. Fair and square, Morgan,’ Spencer answered from his chair to the right; a certain glint in his eyes you swore wasn’t there before.

‘I did it!’ you repeated a few times as you left the controller on the coffee table in front of you and did a little victory dance while still on the couch.

‘She blue-shelled me! How is that fair?!’ Derek continued on his rant, completely ignoring you, as Penelope got up from her chair and patted his shoulder on her way to the kitchen, where Savannah had hidden away as she laughed at Derek’s childish stubbornness over a video game.

‘Pay up, Derek,’ you stood up and walked around the couch until you were face to face with your sour-looking rival.

‘D’you know what? _Fine,’_ he said as he grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and put a hundred-dollar bill on your expectant hand.

‘Thank you, good sir!’ you replied with a grin, while he retreated to the kitchen to grab another beer, grumbling under his breath the entire way there.

You chuckled and put the money back under his wallet, where he had left it, forgotten in an end table off the side. You didn’t care about that. You just wanted him to admit that you had won, even if you _did_ pull a dick move. In your defence, no rules had been established, so your conscious was clean. For the most part.

Not even the get-together had been in the cards. You had been at Penelope’s house watching a movie and pretty much just relaxing with your friend, when Derek called saying that _“Pretty Boy was on his way over with some pizza”_ and invited her to join them. You had met and hung out with her co-workers before during birthdays and dinners, so naturally, they extended the invitation over to you as well once Penelope told Derek you were with her.

The rest of the team had already had plans or were “unreachable”. _“Rossi and the joys of being a best-selling author”_ was what Penelope had said. Apparently, only a case would bring him out from whatever he was enjoying himself. Your blonde friend shivered as she told you that. You, on the other hand, made a mental note to ask her about that later.

‘Well done, although I can’t believe you did that,’ Spencer said and you went back to the couch, where he was now currently sitting.

‘Hey! It’s not like I was actually going to take the money,’ you joked, thinking he was questioning your morals.

‘Oh, no, not about that. I knew you weren’t really interested in that,’ he dismissed your comment with a wave of his hand. ‘I meant going up against him in the first place.’

‘But... he didn’t seem _that_ good? I mean, _I_ won and I generally suck at these types of games,’ you mentioned pointing at the screen where your character was still celebrating. You grabbed the controller and went back to the main menu.

‘He only ever loses that badly after drinking a _lot_ more,’ he sort of whispered in case his friend came back.

‘What about you?’ you asked him while you set up a new game, his eyes still focused on you and not on the screen.

‘What about me?’ he answered with a question, and a frown.

‘When do you usually lose?’ you looked over at him with a hint of a smile.

‘I don’t usually play,’ he said a little quickly before taking a long sip from his beer. The first one still, you noticed.

‘Well, here’s your chance,’ you told him as you tossed him the controller that had been yours and you grabbed Derek’s.

‘W-what?’ he asked surprised and turned his eyes to the TV reluctantly, where the countdown had started taking place. ‘B-but I really don’t know how to play!’

‘Please! I’ve heard you reciting entire poems and extracts from the books I’ve mentioned in passing. I’m sure you know which buttons to press,’ you waved a hand like he had done earlier, while your eyes were solely focused on the screen and the numbers in front of you.

The genius refrained from making a joke about knowing exactly which buttons to press, thank you very much. He didn’t know you all that well to say something like that. Instead he sat, leaning forwards slightly, and copied you as he rested his elbows on his thighs.

‘Only rule: no blue shells this time around. Those have been destroying friendships since 1996,’ you said, and he hummed in agreement, trying to ignore the little smile that was growing slowly and taking over his face.

 _Friendship, huh?_ he thought. _Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that at all._

The moment the countdown ended, a furious battle ensued. So much so, that the three adults chatting away in the kitchen walked quickly back into the living room to check on you two. It had mainly been Spencer’s yelp of surprise as his character tripped over the banana peel you laid down in front of you.

‘You can do that?!’ he was on the verge of standing up as his body moved, following the curves of the winding road you were currently playing your last match in.

‘Yes! And a star!’ you exclaimed happily as you avoided all the obstacles ahead and raced towards the finishing line in first place. ‘Yes!’

‘Nooo!’ Spencer said next to you as he got fifth place. Had it not been for that power-up you got, he would’ve taken the lead.

‘Well, at least I’m not the only one losing against (Y/n) tonight,’ Derek commented as Penelope sat next to you and handed you another drink.

‘I’m _so_ proud of you! Someone needed to beat these guys at some point. Even if Boy Wonder has never played,’ she beamed as you took a sip.

‘I thought you said you sucked at this game,’ Spencer looked at you accusingly.

‘Actually, I said generally if you recall correctly,’ your smile never wavering.

‘I want a rematch,’ he said, challenging you.

‘You’re on,’ you downed your drink in one go and handed the empty glass back to Penelope, who was grinning for a different reason now. ‘Best of five? Loser pays for dinner?’

‘Okay,’ he agreed with renewed determination, and you both chose a new course. ‘Oh, and no blue shells again.’

 _Damn,_ you thought at first. But it was fine. In the end, you went home with Spencer’s number safely stored in your phone and the promise of dinner next week, all expenses on him.


End file.
